Merlin Of Golden Gates
by Lynda-Lee
Summary: Finally after spending three years in care, Merlin is going to be adopted. But will Balinor and Hunith Emrys welcome him into their home?. Follow Merlin on his journey to find a family, home and maybe love... inspired by anne of green gables
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.. Merlin's Arrival.

Twelve year old Merlin sat engrossed, watching as the trees and seemingly endless hills passed by. He was currently seated in what he would like to to imagine was a pure white limousine, which was taking him on a grand journey involving several knights, dragons and or course a golden Prince who would fight for his honor before whisking him away to live happily ever after.

But in reality, he was simply seated in Gaius's battered old ford on his way to to meet the people who were going to become his new family. Gaius was his social worker and had been for the past three years ever since his own mother, Sofia had finally been deemed unfit to care for him any longer. Merlin hadn't been told much about the people who were willing to take him into their home, only that they were a middle aged coupled named Balinor and Hunith Emrys,

Merlin was almost as excited as he was nervous. In the three years he had been in the children's home, no one had ever showed even the smallest amount of interest in him instead they turned their attention to either the younger children or the well built, blonde haired and blue eyed boys.

He didn't have much time to worry though as Gaius gently tapped his arm to gain his attention.

"We're here, Merlin'. The elderly man said with a soft smile, before getting out of the car.

Merlin sat frozen for a moment, unsure whether he could do this. What if they decided they didn't want him after-all?. But Merlin knew no matter how frightened he was, he simply had to do this. For this was an opportunity he had waited such a long time for and who knew when another would arise.

Taking one final deep, calming breath Merlin steadied himself and made his way out of the car only to stop dead at the sight before him. The house was magnificent, it was very old fashioned with its huge windows bracketed with clean, white shutters, some of which were slightly hidden by the green leaves that had grown up against the side of the house. He didn't realize he was standing there staring with his mouth agape until Gaius once again tapped his arm to gain his attention.

'Are you ready to go meet your family?' Gaius asked, smiling softly at the boy who was clearly feeling a little overwhelmed. He had spent a lot of time with Merlin in the years he had known him and in that time he had come to love Merlin almost like the son he had never had. He had even thought of adopting the boy on a few occasions, but his age, along with his work commitments had prevented him from doing so. Merlin was a very bright and energetic boy. He often got lost within his overactive imagination, which some people would surely find irritating, but when Merlin recounted his stories of castles and dragons - his face would light up like the summer sun, making him appear so young and innocent.

Merlin nodded stiffly in response so Gaius gently wrapped an arm around the boys shoulders and guided him towards the front entrance before ringing twice on the brass doorbell.

Merlin wasn't quite sure what he was expecting his new family to be like, but the tall bearded man with hair as dark as his own was something he certainly had not imagined. The man was at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders and hands that appeared as though they could crush him like an unwanted bug with hardly any effort at all.

'Who is it, Bal?' Asked a feminine voice.

Merlin watched as a woman stepped out from behind the giant man. She was the complete opposite of the man in every way. Her hair was chestnut brown, tied neatly in a bun and her face bore the signs of age. She was a lot smaller than her husband and only a little bigger than Merlin making her roughly five and half feet tall. But it was her eyes that seemed to draw Merlin to her, they were kind and gentle - Everything his own mother's were not.

'Hello. I'm Gaius William's' He said as held out his hand for Balinor to shake.

But Balinor did not accept the appendage instead he shot a dark look towards Merlin.

'It appears there as been a mistake.' He said still looking Merlin up and down rather condescendingly.

'I presume you are Mr and Mr's Emrys?' Gaius asked calmly. At the mans nod he continued. 'Then I'm afraid I see no mistake. I have all the appropriate paperwork with me'.

'But he's a boy!' Balinor snapped. 'We specifically asked for a girl'.

At this Merlin saw Gaius give the man what he had always referred to as the eyebrow of doom before snapping back at him. 'Like I said, I have all the paperwork which as been signed by you and your wife clearly stating that you wanted to take custody of Merlin'.

'Maybe so' Said Balinor shaking his head in frustration. 'But we thought we were getting a girl and since he is in fact a boy...' He trailed off, seemingly now wanting to complete that sentence.

'You mean to tell me...?' Gaius started, but Merlin jumped right in before he could finish. 'Please don't send me away...I'll be good and...and I'll do all my chores and I promise I wont be any trouble. Honest sir!' Begging was not something Merlin often did, but for some unknown reason he knew the man just had to take him - he just had the strangest feeling that he belonged here and if begging helped to change the mans mind, then so be it.

'Bal?' Hunith said quietly. She and her husband were set on having a girl. Well Balinor was really, but the pleading look in the boys eyes was all too much. How was she supposed to say no?.

Balinor turned towards his wife. He knew from the tone of her voice that she had already made up her mind. 'He's not what we asked for, love' He said hoping that for once the stubborn woman would give in. He did not want the boy, boy's were nothing but trouble. He wanted a little girl whom he could spoil like a princess, but looking at his wife's face once more he knew it wasn't to be. Whether he liked it or not he now had a son.

'I suppose you had better get his things' He said turning back towards Gaius, completely ignoring the pleased smile that spread over the boys face. He waited until Gaius had grabbed the boys backpack from the trunk of his car before telling Hunith to show him to his new room.

Merlin hugged Gaius and quickly said his goodbyes to the old man, before he obediently followed Hunith into the house and up the winding staircase. The house was even more magnificent on the inside. It was decorated in a way that showcased the face that the couple had money, but at the same time it looked warm and cozy. It looked like a home.

Hunith led him to the room at the far end of the long hallway. He could not believe his eyes when he stepped in to the room. It was the most beautiful room he had ever seen. It was painted with a shade of bright yellow with pictures of landscapes hanging amongst the walls. In the middle of the room was a large four poster bed made with a patchwork quilt and fluffy looking pillows.

He felt like crying. Back at the children's home he had been forced to share a room with three other boys. The room had been small and cramped not to mention the fact that the walls had been painted a boring shade of cream that had been covered in dirty marks and grimy fingerprints.

'I'll leave you to get settled in' Said Hunith kindly, seeing that Merlin was feeling overwhelmed. 'You must be tired after your journey so why don't you take a nap and I'll call you when it's time to eat'.

Merlin nodded not quite trusting himself to speak. No one other than Gaius had ever spoke so kindly towards him.

Slowly, so as not to scare the poor child Hunith carefully wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. 'Welcome home, Merlin' She whispered into his mop of black curls. Her heart pained when he hugged her back ever so gently, as though he thought she was made of glass. 'Thank you' she heard him whisper back tearfully.

'Thank you.'

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A/N I'm finally back.. :) and as you can see my writing is more than a little rusty, but after watching an old movie on the tv the other day I simply had to write this story. All thoughts and ideas as to what should happen next are welcome. Can anyone guess which movie inspired me?...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two. Settling In

Merlin waited until Hunith had left the room before hastily swiped away the tears from his eyes. He couldn't believe he had cried like a little baby, but Hunith had been ever so sweet and had pretended to not notice.

He picked up his discarded backpack and after some deliberation he finally decided that he would do exactly what Hunith had told him and make himself at home. He carefully took out his folded clothes and placed then neatly into the top drawer of the bureau that was situated over by the window. It was depressing to see how little he actually owned, that his clothes didn't even fill one single drawer.

Once he had finished his task, Merlin grabbed the last remaining items from his bag. The first being a picture of his mother. It was a framed photograph and the only one he had of her, he didn't know why he had even bothered to keep it since his mother had not visited him since he had been taken away from her. He hadn't even received a single letter. It was as though she didn't care about him at all, but still Merlin walked over towards his new bed and placed the picture on top of the table next to it.

The only other thing in the bag was a very small and rather battered looking stuffed toy. It was a dragon. He couldn't remember exactly where the teddy had come from but he had owned it since he was five years old and had kept it with him ever since. Sometimes it was as though Kilgarah was his only true friend.

He placed Kilgarah snugly between the two pillows then made his way back over towards the window. He decided he wasn't going to take a nap. He couldn't, he was still feeling far too emotional to be able to sleep so he perched himself down on the window sill and took in the sights of his new home.

And the view was absolutely stunning. For as far as he could see there were acres upon acres of open fields that contained various varieties of different colored wild flowers. He smiled when he also spotted the numerous amount of apple trees, but what really stood out was the fact that the grounds were separated with white picket fences and when he looked closely he could see that every so often there were gates placed upon them. Golden gates.

The gates glittered in the evening sunlight making them appear almost magical. It was breathtaking.

Merlin had been sitting there admiring the view for almost an hour when Hunith poked her head round the door to inform him it was time to eat. Once again, he felt his heart swell when she smiled softly at him before turning away to lead him downstairs to the dining room.

Balinor was already seated at the table when they arrived. Merlin gave the man his best smile only to receive a small grunt in response.

'Come, Merlin. You can sit here' Said Hunith holding out the chair opposite to her husband. She could not stop herself from gently ruffling the boys hair when he rushed to take his place. She thought Merlin was adorable, he seemed so sweet and innocent and his lean figure complete with long limbs made him appear almost fragile.

'So, what do you think of the place?' She asked when she had taken her own seat. She was anxious to hear what he thought and hoped he liked their home.

'Oh, It's wonderful!' He exclaimed. His whole face lighting up with joy.

Hunith chuckled at his response. Thinking that maybe the boy wasn't so shy after-all just a little nervous. 'We're glad you think so. Aren't we Bal?' She replied giving her husband a stern look. She had not missed they way he had ignored Merlin's polite smile earlier, honestly, she loved her husband with all her heart, but it was at the times like this she felt like giving him a sharp slap to the back of his head.

'Yeah..' Came the grunted reply. Hunith couldn't help but give him a quick but sharp kick in the shin under the table. She had only meant to warn him to be nice, but she must have used more force than she intended as the kick caused him to jump up from his seat grabbing his leg protectively whilst hopping on the other.

She tried. Honestly she did, but the sound of Merlin's quiet giggles along with the vision of her oversized husband jumping around as though his backside had been burnt proved to be too much.

And she lost it. She laughed and laughed causing Merlin's giggles to get louder. They both laughed until their sides cramped and they thought they couldn't possibly laugh any more. Merlin whilst holding his sides looked over at Hunith, who in turn looked at him. They shared a guilty look before slowly turning to look at Balinor, who was leaning over the table completely red in the face, casting murderous glances between the two of them.

And really, they couldn't help but burst into giggles once again.

Finally when the laughter had died down, they turned their attention back to their prepared meal. Hunith couldn't help smiling when she looked Merlin's flushed cheeks. He looked so happy and content as he sat there tucking into his roast chicken. He looked at home and it just felt right having him here. It was as though Merlin had been the missing piece that finally completed their family.

Balinor must have thought so too, because when she turned in his direction, he shook his head fondly before a soft knowing smile appeared on his lips..

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A/N Please leave a review letting me know what you think aswell as letting me know if there is anything you would like to see happen.


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